1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to containers in which the contents thereof is in a sealed compartment and, more particularly, to a method and assembly for accessing the contents.
2. Background Art
A multitude of products is offered to end users with the contents thereof in a sealed state within a compartment. This type of product ranges from those that are edible to those that are used by mechanics, construction workers, etc.
The contents of containers is maintained in a sealed state for many different reasons. Sealing of a container prevents escape of the contents from the compartment. Sealing of the contents may prevent contamination by environmental air and/or components entrained therein. Sealing of containers may also at least slow reaction of the contents with the atmospheric air, be it curing, evaporation, or other change in state that renders the contents less desirable than it is in its originally manufactured state. The sealing may also be for the purpose of simply avoiding any effusion of odor from the contents of the container. Regardless of the purpose of the sealing, and keeping in mind that the above described purposes are not exhaustive, once the contents of the container is required to be accessed, the end user must take steps to reconfigure, by rupturing or removal, any sealing layer(s).
In a typical sealing assembly, a sealing layer will be provided at the mouth of a container from which the contents is dispensed. Often, a cap is provided at this mouth location and is removed preparatory to rupturing or removing the sealing layer. In one exemplary form, a cap is threaded onto a container to block the mouth opening. The user removes the cap and thereafter either removes or ruptures the sealing layer to expose the container contents, after which the cap is replaced and the contents controllably dispensed through the cap. In many constructions, the cap has an integrally formed tab that must be removed before the cap can be separated. This construction positively secures the cap in place and also provides a means for visually identifying that the container has been tampered with, whereby its contents may have been accessed.
While the aforementioned sealing assembly is common and generally functional, it has a number of drawbacks. First of all, this type of sealing assembly has some inconvenience associated with it. The end user is required to serially perform the steps of removing the cap, altering the sealing layer, and replacing the cap. Aside from the fact that multiple steps must be performed, the step of removing or rupturing a sealing layer may be difficult or awkward. This is particularly true with sealing layers that are closely conformed to, wrapped against, and/or adhered to, surfaces around mouth openings.
If a user wishes to remove the sealing layer, he/she may have to search to find, or create, an edge thereon that may be pulled to initiate separation. Even if tabs are provided for this purpose, the tabs are purposely made small such that they are difficult to manipulate. As a result, the user may be required to resort to the use of a sharp instrument to separate an edge that might be pulled.
If the end user wishes to simply rupture the sealing layer, he/she will typically use a finger or tool to pierce the layer by advancing the finger/tool into the compartment where the contents is located. This exercise may contaminate the contents or cause an undesirable reconfiguration thereof, as in the event that the contents is prone to being ruptured or fractured.
Penetration of the container by a user's finger may also expose the user to the contents. Often the contents is caustic or aggressively adherent, thereby necessitating that steps be taken to remove the same from the user's finger(s).
Another problem that has persisted is that with certain types of containers, the process of accessing the contents may undesirably reconfigure the container for dispensing. As an example, products sold in containers that cause discharge of contents using caulking guns experience these problems. Typically, the product will be contained in a cylindrical tube with a plunger that can be advanced by the caulking gun towards a discharge end. At the discharge end, a tubular dispensing tip is provided that has a tapering configuration towards a distal end. The sealing layer resides potentially several inches from the distal end, as a result of which part of the distal end of the tip must be removed to allow the introduction of an elongate component that can be used to penetrate the sealing layer to define an egress path.
While ideally the tip is designed to be cut at its distal end so that potentially a very small diameter opening is created to allow discharge of a thin stream of the contents, often the end user will not have a component of a like, small diameter with a length sufficient that it can be directed through the opening to penetrate the sealing layer. As a result, users will typically make the opening larger than desired to accommodate available components that are used to penetrate the sealing layer.
It is conservative to say that hundreds, if not thousands, of products are offered in numerous diverse fields that contend with the above problems. Notwithstanding this, it is not known of any existing commercial sealing assemblies that allow consumers to use products on a daily basis without contending with the inconveniences noted above. The need for better ways to access the contents of sealed containers exists to this day.